The ZI - A rant, then rave

[PlantedTao]

At the beginning of July I traded my M5 + cash for a Black ZI…
I’m as glass wearer and the m5 was not working for me, although I loved the camera and ergonomics.
When the ZI arrived it had an issue with framelines. When the 50 summilux (my only 50) was attached, the right hand frameline was thin and would seem to disappear. Messing with the frame selector I could get the frameline to become correct but after a few moments and frames, it would slip back to the thin/invisible frameline. Since this was a new camera, this was not tolerable and no one else on the forum had this problem (I think one other person did?).

I decided to send the camera back to Sam with Classic Connection whom I made the trade with. He stated that he would send the camera back to Zeiss for a replacement. This is where the wait began…I waited and waited…emailed Zeiss and Sam, all promising that it would be shipped next week and finally two months later, I get my camera.
In their defense, they both (Zeiss and Sam) both offered to give me a loaner camera…but I didn’t want a loaner…I have other cameras, I wanted my new ZI! And with Zeiss, if you can send me a loaner, you can send a new camera in my opinion.
I was not very happy with the Zeiss service and they didn’t even offer to pay for the shipping costs. Sam with Classic Connection paid for the shipping costs and reimbursed me for the return shipping to get the replacement. Throughout this whole thing Sam was very helpful and I would recommend using him for business. (Although if I had to get another ZI with no trade, I would go thru popflash from what I have heard on this forum)

Now I have the ZI, the framelines are fine with the 50…no problems with the rangefinder alignment…but I need to run a roll thru before I pass final judgment.

With the 50 Summilux this camera is beautiful and feels right in my hand. The controls are well laid out and I love that viewfinder…beautiful! The only dislike is the film advance…nowhere near as smooth as the M5 I just gave up, but not cheap feeling either.
The shutter is pretty quiet too…not as quiet as a Leica, but you cant tell unless your at the opera, and I would rather have a metal curtain than cloth.

So far, this is my favorite rangefinder I have held and has only been enhanced by a Luigi leather case that was for my R2. (fits perfect and does not obstruct…although it blocks the frame selector…something I don’t use). If anyone has a ZI and can pick up a Luigi case, I highly recommend it.
I am very pleased with my purchase (now) and look forward to putting it to use.

cheers.
Jason

 

[noimmunity]

That's great that you can still get things exchanged in a reasonable amount of time even from Emerald City!

Interesting to hear your experience coming from a Leica. I came from a Bessa R3A, and just love the Zeiss Ikon. There is definitely a different energy field around it!

Hope your test rolls fulfill your expectations.

 

[kshapero]

I came from Bessa R3's to the ZI. I was happy then and I am happier now.

 

[x-ray]

Jason:

Hope you and your girl friend are doing well and would love to meet up again if you are in Knoxville.

Glad you like the ZI. My wife gave me one for my last birthday and i have to say the RF/VF are the best I've ever used. Overall I love the camera and would most likely go 90% Zeiss if i were starting over again.

After handling your Bessa last year I picked up a mint R2 just for giggles. I got a good price on it and really like the camera. It's a heck of a lot of camera for the dollar and certaily good enough for professional shooting. The Nokton 50 that you sold me was a syunning lens. I replaced it with the asph summilux and now wish I had kept the Nokton. After all the major problems I've had with the summilux I purchased a new Nokton this week to replace the summilux while it's in the shop. No question I'll keep the Nokton this time and may wind up delling the summilux. There's just not that much difference between the two in max aperture performance and stopped down to 2 and below they are virtually the same.

 

[PlantedTao]

I totally agree that coming from the Bessa to the ZI is a very pleasant experience and you can tell that the ZI is way more than a upgraded Bessa R...
The only hang up with the Bessa R2 was the shutter sound (it shouldnt been), and not having AE.
The AE on the ZI is very accurate and just a great way to shoot...lets you concentrate on composition...especially for a newbie like myself. Even for a pro it has got to be a handy feature.

The 'lux is a pre-asph...so I would like to see how it performs...it would be nice to sell the 'lux, get a nokton and put the cash to more important things like film, paper and printing supplies? something for me to think about.

Don -
Everything is going great and we would love to head that way at some point in the future to see Knoxville again.
Hope you can make it out to the Northwest and Seattle at some point...would love to show you around and meet some of the other great RFF photogs in this neck of the woods.

Cheers.

Jason

 

[x-ray]

Jason:

Might just take you up on that.

If you're thinking about replacing the summilux at some point take a serious look at the planar. I bought one last year ans would'nt part with it. Best 50 I've ever used, slr or rf.

I agree the auto feature is excellent. I've only use it off auto once and it does let you concentrate on creativity not exposure. It's kinda like having autopilot for me. It allows you to relax and deal with other parts of the journey.